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You do realize it says: "Assuming no change to that pattern". Can't Reuters apply that analysis to any event and extrapolate "reportable" results?

Some examples: - assuming no change to the Facebook user acquisition pattern, it will reach over 20B users in several years - assuming no change to the growth of a company, it will become larger than the market in 5 years

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It's much easier to make reasonable assumptions about a pattern that is intentional and easily executable upon, such as regularly selling stock one already owns. User acquisition, on the other hand, depends on many variables out of one's control. Also, people use something called critical thinking, e.g. Facebook can't attract more customers than there are humans, something you will find useful as well.

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